Got it. Sell me the Kosei's with tires on em?
Got it. Sell me the Kosei's with tires on em?
So kinda dumb question. I’m going to drain 1/2 tank (5-6 gallons) of 2+ year old fuel out of the Miata.
How/where do I recycle/dispose of it?
In reply to docwyte :
I normally put that stuff in a plastic fuel can and then burn it a gallon or two at a time in my daily if it’s not too bad. I’ve seen gasoline absorb some water, but surprisingly it’s quite stable and long lived. 2 years is nothing to worry about if the system was sealed.
Woke up early this am feeling horrible. I've caught my sons stomach bug, awesome. Some quality time in the bathroom and feel like death warmed over. However I have the trailer and made an appointment to go get the car, so the show must go on.
Got the trailer to the sellers house and the angle of attack on the ramps was way too steep, I'd rip the front lip right off. A quick trip to the local Lowe's got me some wood and I was in business. BTW, the GX tows horribly!
Noticed some paint crazing on the passenger side of the car, in the bumpy textured paint. Oh and it has an exhaust leak of epic proportions, I pratically asphyxiated myself in the car until I could get the windows to roll down, which take their time...
Unloading it was an adventure as well since I was solo, the ramps are the exact width of the tires and you can't see them while in the car. Harrowing!
Anyways, got it in the garage and it fits perfectly. I think I'm going to have to get another set of 2x12's for my lift tho, no way this'll clear my taller bridge jack as is.
Got a whole bunch of stuff from the seller, all the manuals, all sorts of parts, all kinda of books and more manuals, etc. @Keith, I now have THREE copies of your book I ordered, plus several other books of yours!
If I get to feeling better I want to go completely thru the box of parts and records to see what all I need to order...
Congrats on getting it home!
Slow windows are pretty much the norm for NAs... easily addressed, fortunately!
Ha! It’s a decent book, but I’m not even sure I have three copies ;)
Now the adventure truly begins.
In reply to Rodan :
Disassemble the switches and clean them, right?
That car seems way too far forward on the trailer. Maybe that's why it didn't tow very well?
docwyte said:In reply to Rodan :
Disassemble the switches and clean them, right?
Usually the problem is gummed up lubricant in the guides and broken bushings. Parts are available and Honda Shin-Etsu grease works great.
In reply to Rodan :
Thanks for that. I still need to do the windows on mine. The do roll down in the technical sesne, but it can't be god for the motors.
In reply to Run_Away :
My friend said the more weight on the front the better for his trailer.
He may’ve been wrong
Rodan, thanks for the links, I’ll add that to the list
Check the switches, too. I’ve seen a lot of burned contacts.
Ok, I’ve gone thru 20 years of receipts and learned some things.
He had emissions test results going back years and years and the car passed easily several times.
The cat is several years old but only has a few thousand miles on it. The car smells like it had a huge exhaust leak and/or is running really rich. Although 2+ year old fuel may have something to do with that.
Spark plugs are basically new, wires are 8 years old but with very few miles on them and are magnecores.
Timing belt/water pump/cam/crank seals/belts done 8 years ago but only 7,000 miles.
Car has the full FM Stage 2.5 suspension with Illuminas, sway bars and butterfly brace.
Has the silicone rad hose from FM, FM racing radiator, fan shroud, dual Spal fans. T stat only has a few thousand miles on it.
Gear oil and rear diff oil a few years old but under 1000 miles.
So, water pump, cam/crank seals/t stat should be fine to leave alone. I kinda feel like I should replace the timing belt and accessory belts tho. 8 years is a long time. Thoughts?
He gave me brand new spark plugs, so I might as well put them in. What about the wires?
Definitely dump the oil fuel, put in a new fuel filter, new oil/filter, check the exhaust for holes. Make sure the cat is fine.
Then a few gallons of fresh 91, maybe a gallon of E85 and take it in steaming hot. There’s some notes about using the Link to remove 4 digits of fueling?
Anything else?
Gees....you stole that thing.
It's a non interference motor so no harm other than not moving anywhere with not replacing it. I'd look at it when you pull the valve cover and if you don't see anything alarming move on and save yourself come time.
In reply to bmw88rider :
Yeah and he gave me a completely rebuilt Spec Miata head, that's brand new/unused plus a huge plastic bin full of parts. I need to go through the bin today now that I kinda feel human again. I spent the entire day yesterday in bed once I got the miata home. Didn't eat anything all day either but I'm not all that hungry right now, so still a little sick.
@Keith, I did see the Serial Link for the Link ECU, that lets me data log, right? He doesn't have a wide band O2 hooked up, is the Link smart enough to self tune if I give it a wide band O2 input?
Yes to both questions.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Ok, looks like I should get a wide band O2 then. Then the Link can keep the tune inside the parameters it should be...
So that ART head is actually worth something more if you market it. I knew the guys at ART back in the day before they folded up shop. That was a $1000 head easy from them. They were one of the big dogs in building NA spec miata heads and engines. Now that the NB's are ruling the roost in Spec Miata it's worth a little less but you should be able to sell it for $700
In reply to bmw88rider :
I found the receipt for the head, $2300!!!
In reply to docwyte :
OK, got the car up on the lift. That FM Butterfly brace is a large piece of kit! Found my exhaust leak...
Also has a broken rear exhaust hanger
This is a Borla system that's been on the car for 20 years and the car originally was from Cape Cod. So it held up quite well considering. The hole isn't all that large but the metal is really thin. Cheap/easy fix would be to have an exhaust shop patch it but I'm kinda inclined to just order the FM exhaust system and be done with it. Cat is definitely new, it's quite shiny still, plus I found the receipt from FM for it.
Went through the boxes of stuff the guy gave me. Many books/manuals, the Link Serial system, (which I have no idea how to use) a vacuum line kit (red = +5hp!), coolant hoses, spark plugs, oil filter, factory floor mats, etc, etc, etc. Also the cylinder head and an unopened bottle of Ate Super Blue and MTL.
So, I need to replace the coolant temp sensor, as the coolant temp gauge in the cluster doesn't work. That could also be throwing the ECU off and making it run rich. Then oil change, dump the fuel, fuel filter change, 2 gallons of new Shell 91 and maybe 1 gallon of E85 then see if it'll pass smog.
The ECU and the gauge use separate sensors. You can check to see what the ECU thinks the temp is via the Link keypad.
If you’re going to order an FM exhaust, wait a couple of weeks. Just sayin’.
Not surprised with the $2300 receipt on the head. They built run-off quality motors for years till they folded. Good guys. They built the cage on my old SSC miata
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Well, shoot. Thought that was going to be the easy button for getting this thing to pass smog. Dammit. I'll replace it anyways since I want the gauge to work and radiator fans are kinda important.
Cat is basically brand new, same with the plugs. Wires are old, maybe 8+ years. Since the seller gave me plugs I'll replace them, what do you recommend I do with the tune to get this thing to pass smog? Seller said to take 4 digits out of master fuel, but last time he did that it didn't pass CO. In looking at his previous tests it passed HC and CO by leaps and bounds, with maybe 1/2 allowable on NOx. Should I back 5 or 6 out of master fuel and make sure I bring it in really hot?
In reviewing the records he normally would drop the car off at a shop and have them tweak it and take it thru smog. Issue with that is I don't know what they did to get it to pass as the records just say "adjusted Link for emissions". I may try calling them and asking them what they did and see if they'll tell me...
Radiator fans are triggered by the ECU, so an inop gauge is not a big problem. I agree that it should be working, but the Link has overheat protection built into it so it's not critical. My Seven never did have a working standalone temp gauge, I'd just monitor the Link keypad if I was curious.
I'd plug into that Link with a laptop and get a log of what's going on. That'll tell you a lot.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Dumb question, where is the Link mostly likely to be installed? Also, since this thing basically auto tunes itself off the O2 sensor, shouldn't the tune always be within certain parameters? I've read the Link tuning manual once and brought it to work with me so I can read it several more times today. It's not totally settling in with me how you tune this thing for fueling.
I mean, if it's running too rich, that means its been forced to add fuel beyond what it's seeing from the O2 sensor. At light throttle/cruise it should be holding stoich and only going richer as the throttle goes down. I assume there's a value for when it starts to see boost pressure it adds xx fueling?
I have a feeling I need to buy a wide band O2 and give it that signal, then I'll have an easier time tuning it by looking at the wideband values. I've always shot for 12.8 AFR at WOT for my FI cars, that the case here too?
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